At Oxford University, I often hear people say there is nothing wrong with the system: the problem is the vice-chancellor/master/bursar/ university officials. And, in a sense, they are right. If the vice-chancellor had the wisdom of Socrates, the political skills of Machiavelli and the leadership qualities of Winston Churchill, not to mention the patience of Job, he or she would be very likely to be able to fulfil the conflicting demands of the post. But such paragons are few and far between. In the meantime we must try to find structures that can be operated by ordinary mortals.
在牛津大学(Oxford university)，我经常听到人们说，体系没有错，问题在于副校长/教师/会计/学校官员。在某种意义上，他们是对的。如果副校长拥有苏格拉底(Socrates)的智慧、马基雅维利(Machiavelli)的政治技巧和温斯顿•丘吉尔(Winston Churchill)的领导才能，更不用说拥有约伯(Job)的耐心，他或她很可能能够满足这一职位的苛刻要求。但这种天才人物非常稀少。与此同时，我们必须努力找到能够由普通人操作的架构。